Aditya Birla Group set for retail foray in MP

Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumarmanglam Birla said on Friday his company was entering the retailsector in Madhya Pradesh in next three months.

Birla, who was here to attend the two-day investors’ meet of the state covernment, told the Hindustan Times that the group would open stores under the retail chain brand more in the big towns.

Aditya Birla Retail launched its ‘More’ brand of retail stores in the supermarket and hypermarket formats by opening its first store in Pune last year.

“We’ve over five decades of association with MP since the days of the late GD Birla who had set up the Grasim plant in Nagda. I find Madhya Pradesh very encouraging and now investor-friendly like Gujarat,” he said.

He said his company is planning to invest nearly Rs 700 crore in Nagda. An investment of Rs 300-350 crore was also planned for the modernisation and capacity expansion of the staple and viscose fibre plant in Nagda. An equal amount would be also bne invested to convert a cell membrane technology-based plant into an eco-friendly technology-based one to manufacture sodium hydroxide for captive use.

Birla said that the Aditya Birla Group had already invested Rs 7,700 crore in the first phase of a world-class Greenfield smelter plant at Sidhi with a production capacity of 3.5 million tonne of alumina and a 750 million tonne power plant.

“In the second phase, we would invest Rs 10,200 crore. The project would provide direct employment to 5,000 people and indirect employment to 12,000 people in Madhya Pradesh,” he added.

The Centre has allocated a coal-block to the project on a sharing basis. “We would also expand our coverage in the telecom sector in the state to retain our market leadership,” Birla said.